Jeff Jarrett Thinks WWE 'Pulled The Rug Out From Under' WrestleMania Main Eventer

At this point, the series finale of "How I Met Your Mother" may have a more positive reception than the WrestleMania 42 rivalry between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton. Once hotly anticipated, the build up for the Undisputed WWE Championship match between them wound up getting marred by the involvement of celebrities Pat McAfee and Jelly Roll, leading to a Night One WrestleMania main event that many considered to be underwhelming.

Count Jeff Jarrett among those who felt that way. Discussing WrestleMania 42 on a recent episode of "My World," Jarrett took issue with how the Rhodes-Orton match was put together, feeling their attempt to remove McAfee and Jelly Roll from the equation early hurt more than it helped. He proposed an alternative idea.

"Jelly's in Cody's corner and McAfee's in Randy's corner, and for lack of a better word, they're both incredibly big time cheerleaders throughout the match," Jarrett said. "They stay out of the way, don't get involved, let the guys fight, let the guys fight, let the guys fight, have some false finishes where it looks like Pat is almost going to get involved, but he doesn't do that. And then at the right time, all hell breaks lose, then you can do the table spot, clear the air, get everybody out of the way, and then let those two guys finish it."

In the end, Jarrett believes they way the match begun ultimately proved to be massive hindrance towards Rhodes, regardless of what came next.

"I thought the way they started, it pulled the rug out from under Cody, no matter what," Jarrett said. "That was just my thought. I just thought when you said 'Let's just get it out of the way,' I think the audience will go 'Okay, what?'"

If quote this article, please credit "My World with Jeff Jarrett" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription

I'll be honest; for a man who often thinks big, this is one time where it feels to me like Jeff Jarrett isn't thinking big enough. To be clear, he's absolutely correct that the start of the Orton-Rhodes match, and really, the entire build to it, pulled the rug out from under Cody Rhodes. What he doesn't bring up though is that this is the latest in a long line of rug-pulling WWE has done to Rhodes at WrestleMania. Let's take a stroll down memory lane, shall we? 

At WrestleMania 39, Rhodes seemed like a lock to win the Undisputed WWE Championship from Roman Reigns; then he lost and was left staring off into the distance while sitting next to a rubber chicken. Rhodes did get his moment a year later at WrestleMania 40, but it came after WWE tried to nullify his Royal Rumble win by having him step aside for The Rock, a move that only changed after fan rejection. WrestleMania 41 saw Rhodes' rivalry with John Cena overshadowed by a Cena heel turn with diminishing returns, and a nonsensical ending featuring Travis Scott. And I don't think we need to go over the McAfee and Jelly Roll of it all for this year's Mania.

Now look; do I believe this is WWE deliberately trying to sabotage Rhodes? Probably not. But you cannot deny that it's odd how Rhodes' WrestleMania matches always have some form of controversy. If it was once or twice, I would chalk it up to coincidence. But four straight years of something causing a major change to his WrestleMania build? That's not coincidence, that's a pattern. It may not be a pattern WWE is conscious of, but it seems quite clear to me that WrestleMania 42 was only the latest time the promotion has, willingly or not, pulled the rug out from under Rhodes' feet.